The doctors and nurses hold staggered surgeries between the above consultation times.

Each Clinician will not necessarily be working each particular session.

If you are offered a telephone consultation this means that the Doctor or Nurse will assess your situation on the telephone and if they feel it is necessary they will then make you a face to face appointment on the same day.

Saturday Morning Surgery

We would like to remind patients that these appointments are pre bookable.

Priority will be given to patients who work outside of Bedford and who find it difficult to attend the Surgery during normal Surgery opening hours (Monday to Friday).

The Surgery will be open on an 'alternate week basis' between the hours of 9:00am-11:00am.

We cannot deal with emergencies during these times and there will be no telephone service available so we will be unable to deal with prescriptions and admin queries during these times.

A Nurse will be working along side the Doctor. Patients with certain medical conditions maybe called to attend for a review of their conditions with the Nurse or Doctor.

We hope that this will result in a decrease in our A&E attendances over the weekend.

When We Are Closed

NHS Bedfordshire is responsible for the provision of medical care between the hours of 18:30 and 08:00 Monday to Friday and for all weekends and Bank Holidays. A deputising service “BEDOC” is contracted to provide these services.

For URGENT medical problems patients are asked to telephone the Surgery on 01234 849090 and you will be directed to the out of hours service.

NHS 111

In the case of urgent need when the practice is closed you can call NHS 111 on 111 to speak to a triage nurse Your needs will be assessed and advice offered or arrangements made for you to see a doctor or online at www.nhs.uk/111

Please do not ask to see a doctor out of hours unless you genuinely cannot wait until the surgery re-opens.

Call 999 in an emergency. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.

CQC Registered

Who are the CQC?

The CQC (Care Quality Commission) are the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England.

Their job is to make sure that care provided by hospitals, dentists, ambulances, care homes and services in people’s own homes and elsewhere meets national standards of quality and safety.

They also protect the interests of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.

They put the views, experiences, health and wellbeing of people who use services at the centre of their work, and they have a range of powers that they can use to take action if people are getting poor care.

Cater Street Surgery CQC Information:

A&E Attendances

Dr Ali has reviewed all A&E discharges from Bedford Hospital over the past 6 months and has noticed that there have been some inappropriate A&E attendances.

Dr Ali would like to politely remind patients that A&E should only be used in critical or life-threatening situations.

Please see below guidelines for what we hope will reduce inappropriate A&E attendances.

Think before you dial 999

Do you really need an ambulance?

It is sometimes difficult to know whether or not you need an ambulance. It is important to dial 999 if there is a medical emergency, such as:

¨If a person is unconscious or not breathing

¨Has difficulty breathing

¨Has sustained a serious injury

¨Has uncontrolled bleeding or heavy blood loss

¨Has severe chest pain

¨Has severe abdominal pain

¨Has taken an overdose

A&E

Do you really need to go to A&E?

Please don’t go to the A&E department unless you have a critical or life threatening problem.

The basic cost price of an A&E attendance is £138 per patient before treatment or investigations.

NHS 111

NHS 111 is a department of Health idea of a single point of access for urgent care which seeks to improve and simplify access to non-emergency health care by providing a memorable three-digit telephone number that is free to the caller.

By calling NHS 111 callers get immediate access to clinical advice on their condition or triaged over the phone and then sign posted to the appropriate services.

If the reason for the call turns out to be an emergency, the call will be immediately passed to ambulance dispatch, which will then be managed just as if you had dialled 999.

The line is staffed by a team of fully-trained call handlers supported by experienced senior clinical advisors, who will assess the symptoms and then signpost the caller directly to the most appropriate place of care.

Whether an out of hours doctor, a district nurse, a 24 hour chemist or an emergency dentist is needed, the NHS 111 team will make sure service users get the right help, first time.

The NHS 111 service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Calls from landlines and mobile phones are free - just like 999.

Call NHS 111 when:

¨Its not a 999 emergency

¨You think you need to go to the emergency department or another NHS urgent care service

¨You don't think it can wait for an appointment with your GP, or if you don't know who to call for

medical help

For less urgent health needs you should still contact your GP in the usual way.

For immediate, life-threatening emergencies, you should call 999.

Confidentiality & Medical Records

The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.

To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.

When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Complaints

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can occasionally go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please contact the Practice Manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.

If you do have a complaint, it should be made in writing and addressed for the attention of 'The Practice Manager'.

Violence Policy

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

We’re here for you, for longer – GP Extended Access Service

From 1st September ’18 routine pre-booked GP and Nurse appointments will be available in the evenings and at weekends, at London Road Surgery and Riverfield Drive Surgery.